The Legacy of the Ancients
by Sakuza
Summary: A world has fallen and the last hope lies with people in the future with whom the souls of the mystics now reside in. But is the enemy really as it seems to be?
1. Prologue: The Fall of Cridia

* * *

I was really bored during my summer class, and I managed to come up with this random idea. Well…enjoy

* * *

Cridia was already on the brink of destruction. The Dark Lord Tartarus absorbed too much power from the last Mystics. Each Mystic fought hard to defend their world, but in the end, their recklessness caused their own downfall. Each Mystic, save two, selfishly attempted to take on the Dark Lord alone. Now…the hope for all that is good lies with the last two Mystics.

* * *

"Airtos come on!"

"I'm trying…argh!" Tartarus was getting closer to them, and they could sense it. Kiatos helped his fellow mystic stand up.

"Come on , we have to get to Tyrael"

"Ok" And so, they hurried on as Tartarus followed closely behind, destroying everything in his path. It only took all but a few minutes to catch up to the two mystics.

"Darn it!" Kiatos yelled when he sensed Tartarus.

"Tartarus what do you want?!"

"Why Airtos, your powers of course" He began to gather his dark energy into a large sphere. Both mages prepared to fend off Tartarus's attack. Tartarus released the Ball of Death towards the two. The two mystics activated their defenses but it wasn't enough. The ball struck both unconscious.

"Hahahahahaha!" Tartarus prepared to absorb their powers. "You are too weak!" The moment he attacked he was stopped by a blinding flash of light.

"What?!"

" I will not let you kill these two, they have a future ahead of them" There was no indication of who stopped the absorption process.

"Ha, you are too weak-"

"But, I can hide them" In that moment, a brighter light engulfed the three.

* * *

"Argh…where are we?"

"You are in the Aegis Sanctuary Kiatos"

"Tyrael?"

"Yes Tartarus was about to absorb, I could not let that happen"

"How come?"

"You two have a future ahead of you. More than you know, both of you must learn from your mistakes. There will be a time for Tartarus."

"But what would-"

"Arr…" Airtos began to awaken. She too was clueless about what had happened.

"Where am I?"

"The Aegis Sanctuary, I'm glad you're okay"

"Kiatos…how did we get here?"

"Tyrael transported us here, but we must leave this world"

"Why?"

"There is a time for answers" Airtos and Kiatos looked at him. "You must leave this place and stay in another world. It is too dangerous for you here and the last hope lies with you"

"No pressure huh?" Airtos was obviously confused.

"However, as you reside in this other world. Other people will be chosen as the new mystics. You will both train with them, but you must loose what memories you have of this place."

"What…" Both mystics were stunned.

"I am sorry, but you must not remember the foolishness of your comrades." He watched the two with curiosity, but decided to leave them to decide amongst themselves.

"Airtos, are you sure you want to do this?"

"I don't know, what if we never have another chance for.."

"Us? I guess this is what we get for preventing the mistakes we made."

"Everytime we were alone, I wished it would've lasted forever…and now we are forced to forget about all that? I don't know if I can do that."

"It will be okay Airtos, all we can do is hope things will be alright" As Airtos cried in Kiatos's arms, Tyrael came to them and prepared the portal.

"Are you ready?" The mystics nodded and were instantly transported away.

* * *

Tyrael watched the horizon go as he wondered about the fate of Cridia. The Hope for all mankind lies with the mystics. Only with Kiatos and Airtos lies the hidden strength of the ancient guardians. He could sense the pain of the world around him. It was too much to bear. The cries…the suffering… all that was left for this world was the Fortress of Harrogath, but even that may not hold. He prepared to travel to the fortress to aid who was left. The more and more he thought about what was to pass, the more he had the feeling something had gone wrong….

Terribly wrong…


	2. Chapter 1: The New World

It was a normal boring day at Shinamaku High School. Everyone was probably in class if they weren't in the halls studying for a test that would probably never come. The environment was peaceful and the students who were normally cheerful were in their "dormant" mode especially when they were in their favorite class…Math.

* * *

"And by this formula, most of today's math problems are a piece of ca- BRANDON WAKE UP!!!" Mr. Shin threw his marker but missed Brandon by a meter.

"Huh…?" Obviously the sound of the marker hitting the wall still woke him up. "Oh, sorry Mr. Shin. I am just very tired."

"Maybe you should get more sleep" DINGGGGG"Ok, Lunch time, class dismissed" The students started to pour out of the room. It was amazing at how fast the halls can be completely filled up in such a small amount of time. Brandon yawned for the thirtieth time before walking out.

"Hey! Are you alright? You look pretty tired." Hannah, who had just come from her history class, noticed Brandon at his locker. The two had been very close friends since preschool. Many of their classmates wondered why they had not gotten together. They were described as "the best couple" in their grade, despite what the two had tried explaining to most of their classmates probably a thousand times.

"Yeah I am, I didn't get that much sleep. I had a nightmare."

"Oh… hey want to get talk about it during lunch?" They both walked to the cafeteria together while getting giggles from their classmates in the hall. Before the two got to their table, they met Hannah's friends heading to the blacktop.

"Hey Hannah! Want to go play volleyball?"

"No its okay Mandy, I have to talk to Brandon."

"Ooh…Whatever you say." Nicole giggled. After the group of friends left, Hannah and Brandon sat down at the table and started eating. As always, Brandon was fond of pizza, being capable of finishing one slice in only a minute.

"So…what was this dream about?"

"Well… it was kind of weird, like a person talking to me like I knew him. He looked like an angel but I was not sure, this is the fifth time this week I have had this dream."

"Hmm, maybe someone is trying to tell you something?"

"Are you sure?" Brandon clearly did not believe in spirits and telepath. "I mean come on, talking to someone through minds? That's ridiculous."

"Well… you never know, maybe there is someone trying to get through that big head of yours." The two continued on with their conversation, which mainly consisted of Hannah teasing Brandon.

* * *

Tyrael watched from the corner of the building. He could not believe that these two might be the Guardians he had sent away nearly a decade ago. It was just not possible; the two were too juvenile. However, the fact that those two are very close…could explain why the two were chosen to be the vessel of the two Guardians. He had seen the two in their last moments in Cridia…something between them that not even lost memories could take away. But how would he explain to these two that their friendship was predetermined…and that they are actually beings that control great power. Despite the strong evidence, he still could not believe that mere teenagers could contain the spirits of Kiatos and Airtos. He would have to explain everything to the boy first, whether or not he would believe him or no- Wait…this cannot be his life force…it is too strong. How could Kiatos grown this strong over the years, his life force even surpasses mine. Nevertheless, he decided to not get his hopes up and prepared for the right moment.

* * *

DINGGGGG

"Yay! School is over!" Lihan was a bit too excited for summer to start.

"Wow Lihan, you can win a million dollars like that."

"Well, Chanmee, your enthusiasm is not any better."

"Stop picking on her Andrew!" Lihan had grown tired of Andrew teasing Chanmee.

"Ooh! Lihan is sticking up for his girlfriend!" At this Chanmee blushed and stormed out of the school doors.

"She is not my girlfriend…Chanmee! Wait!" Lihan ran after Chanmee, who had already gotten to the school bus stop.

"Oh yea, sure ya betcha!" Andrew mumbled to himself as he went off searching for Nancy. Meanwhile at their locker, Brandon and Hannah were discussing their plans for the summer.

"Hey Brandon?"

"Yeah?"

"Are you going to be really busy over the summer?"

"Hmmm, nope I don't think I will."

"Yay, do you want to hang out sometime?"

"Sure"

ringggg "OH HOLD ON Brandon. Mandy is calling."

"Hello?... Uh, Yeah I remembered…Ok, I'll be there in I a sec."

"Hey Brandoni have to go. Im going to go watch movies with Mandy."

"Okay, Have fun."

"Bye!" Brandon watched as Hannah ran off to meet up with her friend. Brandon sighed as he started off to the city bus stop. He saw the usual people there: Tricia, Lannie , and some other people he did not know. The ride home was a gruesome one, but when he got home, he promptly laid down on the bed.

* * *

_There was fire everywhere, the pain could be felt so vividly. There was destruction everywhere and there stood a tall man. He kept destroying everything in his path before he reached Brandon. He was about to attack before-_

"What the-!" Brandon yelled as he woke up from the nightmare. He paced in his room but stopped when he heard a person coming from the hallway.

"Who are you?!" The man continued towards Brandon, regardless. He removed his hood and for some odd reason he felt familiar.

"It is good to see you again Guardian Kiatos."


	3. Chapter 2: Guardian Airtos

Cridia laid in complete ruins after the siege of Harrogath. After 4 years of fighting, Tartarus had "cleansed" the fortress. It felt great for him. H is soldiers were roaming around the barren wasteland that was once a beautiful paradise. The defenders of Harrogath were too easy. For some reason he still felt a great disturbance. His second in command was late for his check in. He searched for the Lich throughout the fortress. Where could he be?...

"Master" Kel'Thuzad appeared outside the door.

"There you are! Where have you been?" Kel'Thuzad floated through the closed door and kneeled before Tartarus.

"AHHH! Darn it stop doing that!"

"Sorry Master I could not resist."

"Damn right you can't. What is it?"

"We have a problem."

* * *

"What? Who is Kiatos?" Brandon looked around for any other signs of strangers.

"You are, Believe it or not, if only you would let me expla-"

"HAHAHAHAHAHA! You are very funny you know?"

"This is not a joke, you really hold the spirit of the Guardian Kiatos, one of the last Mystics"

* * *

"WHAT?!"

"I am sorry master but based on the power of the portal the only person I could think of who could be responsible is Tyrael."

"Darn him! Kel'thuzad you are in charge of my forces until I hunt him down!"

"But my Lor-" Tartarus had already entered the portal. Kel'thuzad was worried about the fact that the effect the portal could have on Tartarus would weaken him. Tartarus came out of the portal into a strange world. It disgusted him that this world was so peaceful. But his mission here was only to find Tyrael. This was impossible… he felt his power weaken after emerging from the portal…he must kill Tyrael fast before he loses all his powers. Tartarus was off in the new world tracking down the Aegis Warlock Tyrael.

* * *

Brandon continued talking to the man when the man suddenly gasped and held his head in pain.

"What is wrong?"

"I just sensed a dark presence enter this world. Okay I do not have enough time. Hear me, my name is Tyrael. You are the holder of the great Guardian Kiatos. You were once part of a great group of mages who practiced arcane spirit magic. Unfortunately one of your members was corrupted by the Ildatch. Destroying the book, he completely absorbed its powers thus causing him to be the most powerful being since Baal. Slowly he started to take out the group of mages known as the Mystics, save two. Those two are known as Guardian Kiatos and Airtos. I sent you and Airtos to this world to forget your mistakes."

"Airtos…" Brandon seemed as if he only caught that name out of all of that information.

"Brandon you must understand that there is a power greater than any that is locked in you and Airtos. There are others that will be chosen to replace the mystics. You must assist them."

"What?" Brandon was obviously still confused. "But what can I possible do?"

"More than you know, just follow your instinct and you will find the way." Tyrael flew out of the window and let Brandon think to himself. Now he started thinking about it, he started feeling a bit different lately. Suddenly a figure materialized out of thin air in front of him. He had a white coat, armor laced around the arms and shoulders, and large wings.

"Uhh…are you.."

"Yes I am Kiatos, I am you, and in time we must train and prepare for what is to come, because based on what that man has told you, the future of his world lies with you and this Airtos."

"But I don't even know how to-"

"Search your mind, it is locked in there." Having said that, he disappeared. Brandon had enough of that night and tried to fall back to sleep.

* * *

The next day Tyrael waited at the location he informed the other eleven people to come. He could sense Tartarus nearby. The students are being too slow! He must find a way to leave a mess-

"Well long time no see Tyrael" Tyrael turned towards the voice and backed into the wall.

"Tartarus I warn you if you kill me, there will be another."

"Really now? Who?"

"Kiatos"

"You lie! He is too weak."

"Not if he can muster the hidden power of the Ancients that were locked away so many millennia ago."

"Impossible! He will be unable t-"

"Are you sure?"

"Silence!" Tartarus attacked Tyrael. There was a great burst of energy as his attack hit his mark. Tyrael was gone.

"Pathetic fool." Tartarus began to create another portal but was unable to.

"Blast! I do not have enough energy. Oh well, I will just kill Kiatos while I am here."

* * *

Andrew, Nancy, Lihan, Chanmee, and some others including, Oliver, Ann, Hannah, Arthur, Minji, Douglas, and Justine were heading to the location they all had been informed to go to. No one had any idea of what was going to happen.

"Hey Hannah, you didn't bring Brandon?"

"Nope, he said he was really tired last night." Ann found it amusing to see Brandon talk to girls because in the end, they would either end up arguing or teasing. She needed entertainment right now because there was no excitement happening. It was completely silent, everyone had been woken up in the middle of the night to come to the designated location. Andrew was the first to notice that they had already arrived.

"Okay…so what do we do here?" Out of nowhere, a man covered in light appeared before them.

"Hello, I am Archangel Tyrael."

"The Who and What?"

"ARCHANGEL YOU IDIOT!" Chanmee was tired of Lihan's useless remarks.

"Sit and I will tell you why you are all here. You were too late and I was defeated by the Dark Lord Tartarus."

"Apparently not!" Chanmee promptly knocked Lihan on the head for yet another useless comment.

"I was Aegis, and when an aegis warlock is killed, he is reborn as an Archangel. However, I am forbidden to help anyone on the mortal plane. Now back on track, you have all been chosen to become the new mystics. Mystics are mages using powerful arcane magics to defeat evil. You are destined to help restore order to the world of Cridia." The students chatted amongst themselves because apparently no one was paying attention.

"SILENCE!" Tyrael was about to run out of patience.

"Allow me to show you what I mean." He pointed towards Hannah. "You, come forward." Hannah hesitantly stood forward.

"Now…concentrate your energy to your hand."

"What?"

"JUST DO IT!" Hannah closed her eyes and concentrated. Time passed in what seemed like hours. Before everyone was about to fall asleep, a ball of energy formed over Hannah's palm.

"WHO-" At that moment, a circle appeared around her. Bright purple lights engulfed her as the other students just stood there stunned. After a minute or so, standing where Hannah was, was a woman with similar features to Guardian Kiatos.

"Hannah?" Ann almost wanted to faint.

"Yes?" The woman still seemed to be the same person.

"It seems you have learned fast, Hannah, or should I call you…Guardian Airtos?"

* * *

Brandon could not fall asleep after what he was told. He could sense someone coming. Was it this Tartarus dude Tyrael mentioned? He must find a way to hide before he was found. He transformed into Kiatos and exited the house. In that instant, he was blasted to the side. Tartarus had arrived.

"You will not escape me again Kiatos!"


	4. Chapter 3: Temporary Bliss

Kiatos was knocked into the wall by a magic blast. This attack was somehow stronger than the last time he saw Tartarus.

"Ergg…you will not win this time…"

"I wouldn't be too sure." Tartarus fired his energy blast at Kiatos before it was blocked.

* * *

_An hour earlier_

"What the heck? Who is Airtos?" Nancy was apparently still in shock.

"I am." Everyone stared at Hannah.

"But…"

"Airtos and Hannah." Everyone looked over to see Tyrael approach them.

"Airtos, I assume you know who I am."

"Yes, you are Tyra…" Airtos suddenly looked out the window. She could sense something evil nearby, and another energy source…

"I have to go." Before the others could reply, she flew away into the night.

* * *

After about an hour later, Kiatos lay exhausted on the ground. 

"Ha!! you do not even know how to use your new powers! So much for gaining the Ancient powers." Kiatos laughed. "It is the end now Kiatos."

Kiatos was knocked into the wall by a magic blast. This attack was somehow stronger than the last time he saw Tartarus.

"Ergg… you will not win this time…" Kiatos struggled to his feet.

"I wouldn't be too sure about that." Tartarus fired his energy at Kiatos before it was blocked.

"WHAT?! WHATS GOING ON? WHOS THERE?"

"It seems your up to no good again Tartarus." As the smoke lifted, Tartarus was taken by surprise.

"Airtos…"

* * *

"Uh…bright light guy?" 

"Yes?" Tyrael found it irritating that this small boy had already forgotten his name.

"Where did Hannah go?"

"AIRTOS went somewhere that I do not know, as for you Lihan and the others, I still have much to tell you." Everyone settled in front of Tyrael. "I will tell you one more thing before I must go. I sense that Tartarus will be killed, but something else, something that disturbs me. Anyways, you will train as mystics and fight against this dark power. When you are done here, you must travel to the world of Cridia. It is a barren wasteland but it was once a great paradise. The balance of power has shifted and it must be changed back. It is the general rule of worlds; there is always an equal balance of good and evil in a world, no more or less on either side. Tartarus has disrupted the balance. Each one of you controls a certain materia. Each of you will have a counterpart who will have the same material. Together, your power is multiplied, so as advice, use that well."

"Uh…wow, are you going to train us then?" Andrew was always ready for adventure.

"You will have to train by yourself. It is in your ancient memories. OH I forgot to tell you, all of you contain the ancient spirits and memories of the previous mystics in your subconscious. You must tap into that memory to learn how to train. But I must warn all of you, with this journey, comes life and death. It is a part of life, and when all this comes to an end, at least one of the mystics will make the ultimate sacrifice. Starting from now, none of your lives will ever be the same. Good Luck." Having made his point, Tyrael disappeared.

* * *

Darn it, the last thing he needed was to have to deal with both Kiatos and Airtos at the same time. With this energy, they might be able to put up a fight. 

"Airtos, you will die this time!"

"I do not think so." Airtos helped Kiatos up.

"Foolish girl, you have no idea of the power you are dealing with!"

"Oh I do…" Airtos mentally asked Kiatos for his energy to help her. Kiatos however, was still unconscious after the last attack. 'Darn it, this isn't going as well as I hoped…' Suddenly she felt a great burst of energy. It was too great! But…how…Kiatos couldn't have…hes unconscious…she decided to disregard the source of this power and used it to gather up energy into a ball.

"Hmm, your stupidity goes beyond those of this pathetic world. I shall destroy you once and for all!" Tartarus launched yet another dark ball at Airtos. Before he could react a great beam of light surrounded him. Tartarus was completely caught off guard.

"What is this?!"

"I guess you underestimated me Tartarus."

"NO IT CANT BE!!! NOOOOO!!!!!" The beam of light engulfed him as everything around the two began to quiet down.

"….." Kiatos began to awaken slightly as he began aware of his surroundings. "Airtos…?"

"Kiatos your awake!" She placed him against the wall so he wouldn't fall over. "Are you okay?"

"I guess so. I think I should be getting back home now."

"Okay, ill go with you." Airtos helped Kiatos to his feet as they began to walk down the sidewalk.

* * *

All the students in the room were trying to make energy. However, only a few succeeded after what seemed like hours. 

"Whoa! Fire! Wheee!!!!" Chanmee started jumping around like a maniac.

"WATCH IT!" Andrew shot lightning at her feet startling her.

"Oh bring it on!" Suddenly the whole room was just another typical school gym. As of there were an invisible block of rock in the middle, the magic powers were stopped. They noticed two people enter the room.

"Are you people mad?!"

"Hannah!, Wait who are you?" Everyone else noticed the guy that Hannah was with.

"Kiatos."

"Ooh…so your that guy that Tyrael talked about…"

"Yes, and his death did not bear any large significance in the balance of power, so for now it is fine. He cannot help us, he is now in the Angel's Fortress." Kiatos began to transform back into Brandon as Airtos changed into Hannah. The two walked back out on the way home.

"Well, I completely knew that the other guy was Brandon. I mean…COME ON i know all of you knew that right?"

"Mmhmm...except for you…" Chanmee knocked Lihan on the head again as the others began practicing their magic again.

* * *

**Charcater Bios. ( note: they all go to Shinamaku High School. Some bios may be short, some may be long, don't yell at me please.)**

**1. Brandon/Kiatos:**** 16 years old. He has brown hair and light blue eyes. He and Hannah are very close friends, and only has a few others. He finds it only possible to be friends with those you completely trust. Guardian Kiatos was forced to reincarnate into the new world after the tragedy of Cridia. After seeing the close friendship Brandon and Hannah shared for many years, he chose to revive in Brandon because of the similarity between the relationship with Airtos. In guardian form, Brandon changes from brown hair to brown hair with yellow highlighted tips.**

**2. Hannah/ Airtos:**** 16 years old. She has brown long hair and light purple eyes. She has many acquaintances that she spends her time with, but her closest friend is Brandon. Like Kiatos, Airtos was forced to revive into the new world, and chose Hannah for the same reason Kiatos chose Brandon. In her guardian form, instead of brown hair, she has yellow hair.**

**3. Arthur****: 16 years old and has short black hair and brown eyes. He is usually quiet and speaks only to a few people. He controls the Tempest Materia along with his counterpart Minji. He was the last one to be able to use his magic.**

**4. Minji****: 16 years old, she is very outgoing and seems to bring the excitement to Arthur. She has black hair at medium length, and brown eyes. She also controls the Tempest Materia.**

**5. Andrew****: 16 years old, he can be very confusing to people and also has a very short temper. Has black hair and black eyes. His parents were coincidentally killed on the day Tartarus was reawakened from hell. He controls the Charge Materia along with his counterpart, Nancy.**

**6. Nancy****: 16 years old, very outgoing and helps Andrew in figuring out how his parents were killed. It seems she has a good temper because she hardly gets mad. She has long brown hair and blue eyes. She also controls the Charge Materia.**

**7. Oliver****: 16 years old. Knows a lot about technologies and how to work with them. He and his "friend" Ann argue more than any of his other friends about useless things. He is bald and has black eyes. He controls the Nature Materia.**

**8. Ann****: 16 years old. She has way too many friends for her own good, but is able to control herself. She argues with many people a lot especially Oliver. She has really long yellowish brown hair and brown eyes. She also controls the Nature Materia.**

**9. Lihan****: 16 years old and is very short. He is often considered dumbfound, because he does not catch on too that many details. Doesn't have much hair and has black eyes. His older brother mysteriously disappeared around the time most of the outposts in Cridia were taken out simultaneously. He controls the Flare material. His counterpart is Chanmee.**

**10. Chanmee****: 16 years old, and is even shorter than Lihan. Has short black hair and black eyes. She unlike Nancy, does not care much about Lihan's brother. However on some occasions in their childhood, she has shown some concern. She also controls the Flare Materia.**

**11. Douglas****: 16 years old. Not that many people know about his history, which is why he is considered disturbingly mysterious. He has short black hair and brown eyes. He controls the Azura materia.**

**12. Justine****: 15 years old. The youngest sophomore, and by far the quietest. She only speaks to Douglas and her parents. She has long black hair with brown highlights and black eyes. She controls the Azura material.**

**In case you were wondering, Azura water, Charge Lightning, Flare Fire, Nature ….Nature, and Tempest Wind. The two Guardian Mystics' powers will be revealed later on in the story. **


End file.
